1. Field
The presently disclosed subject matter relates to fasteners and, more particularly, to an improved fastening structure for securing various vehicle components.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
A number of different fasteners exist for attaching components, including vehicle components, to support panels. For example, in the automotive industry, various components, such as vehicle interior trim panels, are attached to structural supports which can be made of sheet metal, polymeric materials or composite materials. A common problem with such conventional fastening devices has been that, during assembly, alignment of the fasteners with the apertures provided in the components that are to be attached to can be difficult. As a result, misaligned fasteners or clips cause poor coupling of components which may overstress both the fastener/clip and the components to be coupled, resulting in a loss in retention strength for holding the components in place and/or destruction of the fastener or associated clip(s) and housings. As a result, components can become loose or rattle because of improper fastener geometry or installation.
Some fasteners are of a two-piece construction including a pin and a mounting grommet which allows a component once installed to be removed and reattached by a separating joint between the pin and grommet. In such configurations, a socket or aperture in each of the mating vehicle components that are to be attached are provided for receiving the pin and mounting grommet assembly. One type of socket is commonly referred to as a “doghouse” which receives the grommet end of the fastener. In such conventional structures, there has been difficulty centering the pin and grommet within the socket structure. Sometimes, the pin is forced to an edge of the socket which results in an off-centered pin which in turn compromises the integrity of any coupling of components by the pin and grommet structure. In addition, when lock structures are provided at the doghouse structure to retain the grommet portion of the fastener locked within the doghouse structure, depending on the size of the lock structures and the geometry of the grommet portion, the lock structure may contact and cause misalignment of the fastener.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a clip centering device and method which centers a fastener within a connection (e.g., doghouse clip) structure resulting in an improved coupling of components, particularly vehicle components.